In early October, the Canadian Parliament passed a motion in the House of Commons approving ‘combat operations’ in Iraq, by a vote of 157-134. We voted to go to war.
ISIS is not a terrorist group like Al-Qaeda. They are insurrectionists, trying to create their own country. Factually, we agreed to join one side of a civil war. We were invited by one side of the conflict, the side of the Iraqi government. We declared war on ISIS.
Most Canadians noticed no change in their daily lives.
Then our soldiers were attacked, not abroad but here at home.
I really wish the nation reacted to every death of a service member as we did to the death of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, but it was the symbolism that gouged the Canadian psyche. An unarmed soldier, standing guard over a cenotaph, was ambushed and killed.
Most are calling this terrorism. It wasn’t. It was treachery. There are traitors among us.
Let me be clear: I consider the cowardly acts of these traitors reprehensible. They attacked unarmed and unsuspecting soldiers.
But they did attack soldiers.
One of them also made an attempt to attack our leaders, a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions. ISIS (shockingly) is not a signatory of these conventions of war, and have shown a propensity to ignore them. However, these traitors did not attack civilians, and that is significant. Terrorism (in the past) specifically targeted non-combatants, and our soldiers are combatants. The legal definition of terrorism does not make this distinction, but if we were at war with a recognised state actor, would we consider each soldier killed an act of terrorism against Canada?
Let me be clear: I consider the cowardly acts of these traitors reprehensible. They attacked unarmed and unsuspecting soldiers.
But they did attack soldiers.
One of them also made an attempt to attack our leaders, a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions. ISIS (shockingly) is not a signatory of these conventions of war, and have shown a propensity to ignore them. However, these traitors did not attack civilians, and that is significant. Terrorism (in the past) specifically targeted non-combatants, and our soldiers are combatants. The legal definition of terrorism does not make this distinction, but if we were at war with a recognised state actor, would we consider each soldier killed an act of terrorism against Canada?
Lest we forget
Iraq’s civil war is a mess. There is no easy solution, and whether you agree or disagree with our deployment is irrelevant. We are at war.
The expectation that this would have no impact on our homeland is hubris. Our security services were diligent in preventing attacks that stemmed from our involvement in Afghanistan, but no organisation or person is perfect. In some cases, you’d need a psychic to prevent an attack.
We seem reluctant to admit that our foreign military deployments are not ‘cost free exercises’. We sacrifice the lives of our sons and daughters, in hopes of a better world. Sometimes we forget that we've sent them to hostile territories.
The recent traitorous attacks were cold water poured over a sleeping nation. We are at war, and our geographic isolation from the conflict has made us complacent.
We seem reluctant to admit that our foreign military deployments are not ‘cost free exercises’. We sacrifice the lives of our sons and daughters, in hopes of a better world. Sometimes we forget that we've sent them to hostile territories.
The recent traitorous attacks were cold water poured over a sleeping nation. We are at war, and our geographic isolation from the conflict has made us complacent.
The Response
Orwell traveled to Spain during its civil war, joining the conflict against the Nationalist Franco. Britain publicly declared neutrality at the time, but privately preferred a Franco victory. The Spanish civil war attracted many foreign fighters, much like the civil wars in Syria and Iraq today. If Britain had publicly sided with Franco, Orwell would have rightly been designated a traitor to his country.
Canada has chosen a side in Iraq’s civil war, and we have sent our troops to fight. Canadian citizens who join ISIS are traitors, and need to be treated as such. Working for the enemy is treachery, unless they renounce their citizenship and leave the country – for good.
In this vein, Canada requires a temporary War Measures act. This would be a harsh and almost unpalatable piece of legislation, but would include sunset clauses.
That is not what we are getting. Our security services are getting new permanent powers.
Unless we have entered into a perpetual and permanent state of war, our security services should not receive new permanent powers, but rather temporary powers. If our politicians believe that this conflict will be long term or permanent, we deserve to hear them say it.
We cannot pretend that these attacks were senseless crimes.
We declared war.
War has repercussions.
It’s time for Canadians to acknowledge this conflict, not as an ‘anti-terrorism operation’, but as a war.
It’s time for a temporary War Measures Act, allowing the detention of suspected traitors until the conflict is resolved. The legislation would also include War bonds and temporary pricing controls to mitigate the costs of the conflict. Not because we require them, but to remind us that this is a collective war, not Harpers war. Our parliament is elected to speak for its citizens, and we collectively declared war.
We cannot pretend that a declaration of war is an academic exercise. We are killing people. They will try to kill us.
Canada is at war. Let’s act like it.
Canada has chosen a side in Iraq’s civil war, and we have sent our troops to fight. Canadian citizens who join ISIS are traitors, and need to be treated as such. Working for the enemy is treachery, unless they renounce their citizenship and leave the country – for good.
In this vein, Canada requires a temporary War Measures act. This would be a harsh and almost unpalatable piece of legislation, but would include sunset clauses.
That is not what we are getting. Our security services are getting new permanent powers.
Unless we have entered into a perpetual and permanent state of war, our security services should not receive new permanent powers, but rather temporary powers. If our politicians believe that this conflict will be long term or permanent, we deserve to hear them say it.
We cannot pretend that these attacks were senseless crimes.
We declared war.
War has repercussions.
It’s time for Canadians to acknowledge this conflict, not as an ‘anti-terrorism operation’, but as a war.
It’s time for a temporary War Measures Act, allowing the detention of suspected traitors until the conflict is resolved. The legislation would also include War bonds and temporary pricing controls to mitigate the costs of the conflict. Not because we require them, but to remind us that this is a collective war, not Harpers war. Our parliament is elected to speak for its citizens, and we collectively declared war.
We cannot pretend that a declaration of war is an academic exercise. We are killing people. They will try to kill us.
Canada is at war. Let’s act like it.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment